Qatar Airways is expanding its operations in Africa by launching a daily flight to Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. This is the airline's second destination in Tanzania, its 18th gateway in Africa, and 118th global route.

The first flight, which operates from Doha to Kilimanjaro via the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, landed on July 25.

Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. Image: Peter Zaharov

The flight QR546 to Kilimanjaro International Airport is operated by an A320 aircraft, with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy.

The airport is located 45km from Moshi, the starting point for climbs to Mount Kilimanjaro.

The famous Mount Kilimanjaro located in the Kilimanjaro National Park (which officially opened in 1977)  receives around 35,000 annual climber tourists a year.

The main attraction for visitors is not the wildlife but the equatorial mountain, the biggest in Africa at 5896m. It is a very popular destination among hikers as it is possible to walk to the summit without using ropes.

Qatar Airways was recently ranked first on Skytrax's list of the World's Top 10 Airlines, for the second year running.

The airline company also plans to launch a new route to emerging tourist destination Yangon, Myanmar, in October.